The art market | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/art-market
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:53:05 GMT2017-09-26T21:53:05Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Andy Warhol's inaugural 'selfie' expected to fetch £7m at auctionhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jun/14/andy-warhols-inaugural-selfie-expected-to-fetch-7m-at-auction
<p>Print from 1963 based on photo-booth image of artist obsessed with cult of celebrity to be sold at auction for first time</p><p>He was the artist embracing selfie culture half a century before the rest of us. And now, the self-portrait that secured Andy Warhol’s move from artist to celebrity – his inaugural “selfie” – is to be sold at auction for the first time. </p><p>The print from 1963 was created using an image of Warhol taken in a standard New York dime store photo booth, and was the beginning of the artist’s own face becoming a distinctive feature of his artwork until he died. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jun/14/andy-warhols-inaugural-selfie-expected-to-fetch-7m-at-auction">Continue reading...</a>Andy WarholArt and designCelebrityCultureLife and styleUK newsArtCollectingThe art marketTue, 13 Jun 2017 23:01:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jun/14/andy-warhols-inaugural-selfie-expected-to-fetch-7m-at-auctionPhotograph: Sothebys/PAPhotograph: Sothebys/PAHannah Ellis-Petersen2017-06-13T23:01:11ZCar loans, low rates, second mortgages: all the ingredients for a new credit crunchhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/car-loans-second-mortgages-ingredients-for-new-credit-crunch
The relentless rise in consumer borrowing is starting to cause real concern in the financial services industry. And with good reason<p>A credit crunch is brewing and when it happens, the UK is going to get hurt. That is the message emerging from senior executives in the financial services industry, who do not think Britain has changed that much since the 2008 credit disaster and the devastating crash that followed. Three developments lie at the heart of this disturbing analysis: spectacular growth in the sale of second mortgages, car loans and credit cards.</p><p>Second mortgages are widely seen as a signal of consumers taking on risky levels of debt that leave them vulnerable to a downturn in the economy.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/car-loans-second-mortgages-ingredients-for-new-credit-crunch">Continue reading...</a>RegulatorsFinancial Conduct AuthorityBusinessBank of EnglandCredit cardsBorrowing & debtBanks and building societiesBankingThe art marketMoneySun, 21 May 2017 05:59:46 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/car-loans-second-mortgages-ingredients-for-new-credit-crunchIllustration: David SimondsIllustration: David SimondsGuardian Staff2017-05-21T05:59:46ZIs this Basquiat worth $110m? Yes – his art of American violence is pricelesshttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/may/19/jean-michel-basquiat-110m-sothebys
<p>An untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat work has sold for $110.5m, becoming the most expensive American painting ever – thanks to a combination of romance and sheer nightmarish vision</p><p>It is a painting that bleeds history. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) portrays a black skull scarred with red rivulets, pitted with angry eyes, gnashing its teeth, against a blue graffiti wall on which someone has been doing their sums. Perhaps the street mathematician was calculating how many Africans died on slave ships in the 18th century, or how many people lived in slavery in America, or how many young black men have been killed by police guns in the last few years.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/may/19/jean-michel-basquiat-skull-painting-record-1105m-at-auction">Jean-Michel Basquiat skull painting sells for record $110.5m at auction</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/may/19/jean-michel-basquiat-110m-sothebys">Continue reading...</a>Jean-Michel BasquiatThe art marketArt and designArtCulturePaintingUS newsFri, 19 May 2017 12:06:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/may/19/jean-michel-basquiat-110m-sothebysPhotograph: APPhotograph: APJonathan Jones2017-05-19T12:06:31ZNazi-looted painting to be auctioned as owners' heirs fail to halt salehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/23/nazi-looted-painting-auctioned-im-kinsky-bartholomeus-van-der-helst
<p>Auction house Im Kinsky accused of moral bankruptcy for sale of Bartholomeus van der Helst work despite ownership dispute</p><p>A 17th-century Dutch old master painting stolen by the Nazis is to be auctioned in Vienna next week, provoking outrage from the heirs of the owners from whom it was looted who have accused the auction house of moral bankruptcy.</p><p>Auctioneers at <a href="http://www.imkinsky.com/en/ ">Im Kinsky </a>have not shied away from describing the painting, Bartholomeus van der Helst’s Portrait of a Man, as disputed stolen art in the sales catalogue. They state that its current owner bought it in good faith from a German art dealer in 2004 and under Austrian law she has the right to sell it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/23/nazi-looted-painting-auctioned-im-kinsky-bartholomeus-van-der-helst">Continue reading...</a>AustriaArt theftNazismArtWorld newsEuropeArt and designCultureGustav KlimtThe art marketSun, 23 Apr 2017 11:34:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/23/nazi-looted-painting-auctioned-im-kinsky-bartholomeus-van-der-helstPhotograph: Im KinskyPhotograph: Im KinskyKate Connolly Berlin2017-04-23T11:34:27ZDon't look now: the artists who turn their backs on the worldhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/20/tell-them-i-said-no-artists-who-turn-backs-on-world-martin-herbert
<p>Stanley Brouwn had books about his work pulped, Cady Noland plagues anyone trying to sell or show hers … even in this oversharing, celebrity-driven age, some artists refuse to play to the gallery<br></p><p>Making art is not enough. Today, artists are expected to promote themselves. They have to rub shoulders with supermodels at the big art fairs and gladhand movie stars at glitzy summer parties. But in his new collection of essays, <a draggable="true" href="http://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1657&amp;l=en&amp;bookId=550&amp;sort=year%20DESC,month%20DESC">Tell Them I Said No</a>, the art critic Martin Herbert focuses on the ones who refuse to play the game – or who quit it altogether. </p><p>The book’s title comes from the emphatic response given to Herbert when he requested an interview with <a draggable="true" href="http://www.serpentinegalleries.org/exhibitions-events/trisha-donnelly">Trisha Donnelly</a>. Her 2014 show at London’s Serpentine gallery was the kind of career milestone that usually sees an artist perform for the press – confessing, perhaps, <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/may/18/martin-creed-i-keep-hair-and-im-afraid-of-cheese">a fear of cheese</a>, or a desire to pickle a contemporary in formaldehyde. But Donnelly declined. There was no formal press release, no contact with the media.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/20/tell-them-i-said-no-artists-who-turn-backs-on-world-martin-herbert">Continue reading...</a>ArtThe art marketArt and designCultureArt and designEssaysBooksMarketing & PRMediaCelebrityThu, 20 Apr 2017 15:57:46 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/20/tell-them-i-said-no-artists-who-turn-backs-on-world-martin-herbertPhotograph: Trisha DonnellyPhotograph: Trisha DonnellyHettie Judah2017-04-20T15:57:46ZCharles Truman obituaryhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/14/charles-truman-obituary
<p>My friend and colleague Charles Truman, who has died aged 67, was an eminent historian of the decorative arts. His work on <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/gold-boxes">gold boxes</a>, most of them designed to hold snuff, showed that they were not merely rich men’s toys, but among the most remarkable achievements of 18th-century craftsmanship.</p><p>He was born at Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire, to Kenneth Truman, a solicitor, and his wife Dorothy (nee Harris). Charlie, as he was affectionately known, chose the art world in which to forge a career rather than follow in the footsteps of his father, and his father before him.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/14/charles-truman-obituary">Continue reading...</a>ArtV&AThe art marketHistory of artFri, 14 Apr 2017 15:41:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/14/charles-truman-obituaryPhotograph: NonePhotograph: NoneJohn Adamson2017-04-14T15:41:26ZTurner's German masterpiece to be auctioned in Londonhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/04/turner-german-masterpiece-ehrenbreitstein-auctioned-london
<p>Ehrenbreitstein is one of only six major paintings by the artist still in private hands and has an estimate of £15m-£25m</p><p>One of the finest paintings by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jmw-turner">JMW Turner</a> still in private hands is to be auctioned in London.</p><p>Ehrenbreitstein, showing a magnificent ruined fortress perched on a cliff overlooking a tranquil valley, was considered something of a showstopper when first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1835.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/04/turner-german-masterpiece-ehrenbreitstein-auctioned-london">Continue reading...</a>JMW TurnerPaintingArt and designCultureThe art marketArtGermanyEuropeUK newsWorld newsTue, 04 Apr 2017 15:59:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/apr/04/turner-german-masterpiece-ehrenbreitstein-auctioned-londonPhotograph: Courtesy: Sotheby'sPhotograph: Courtesy: Sotheby'sMark Brown Arts correspondent2017-04-04T15:59:05ZPrawn sex … and other future sounds of Russiahttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/13/future-sounds-of-russia-geometry-of-now-festival-ges2-moscow-leonid-mikhelson
<p>Bankrolled by an oligarch and staged in a derelict power station near Red Square, the Geometry of Now festival aims to bring Russia back to the heart of the avant-garde – with neon raves, black-robed gurus and bone-chilling industrial noise</p><p>Leonid Mikhelson, the richest man in Russia, stands on a balcony overlooking the main hall of GES-2, a disused power station, as Moscow’s art crowd mill around him. It’s the opening night of <a href="http://geometryofnow.v-a-c.ru/#programme">Geometry of Now</a>, a festival of sound art and club culture staged by his foundation, VAC. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/27/public-house-music-mark-fell-on-making-art-in-a-derelict-pub">Curated by British artist and electronic musician Mark Fell</a>, the four-day festival’s attractions include a man playing one note on a cello for an hour; a lecture on gender, politics and sound by the transgender musician <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/25/dj-sprinkles-terre-thaemlitz">Terre Thaemlitz</a>, and a late-night DJ set by Detroit techno legend <a href="https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/anthonyshakir">Anthony Shakir</a> – along with 15 sound-based installations around the building, one of which is a vastly amplified recording of prawns having sex. So – given that Mikhelson paid for it all – which is his favourite artwork?</p><p>“My daughter,” Mikhelson tells the Guardian through an interpreter. Victoria Mikhelson is the “V” in <a href="http://v-a-c.ru/">VAC</a> (somewhat improbably, the foundation’s full name is Victoria, the Art of Being Contemporary). A 23-year-old art history graduate who studied at New York University and the <a href="http://courtauld.ac.uk/">Courtauld Institute</a> in London, she is one of the prime movers behind Geometry of Now. Her father, meanwhile, is the boss and major shareholder of <a href="http://www.novatek.ru/en/">Novatek</a>, the Russian gas company. Forbes currently estimates him to be worth $18.2bn (£15bn). As the overhead heaters roast an audience preparing itself for the doom-rock sonic assault of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/23/sunno-william-onyeabor-david-byrne-meltdown-observer-review">Sunn O)))</a>’s Stephen O’Malley and Muscovite underground artist Alexey Tegin, the suited Leonid may look a little out of place, but he’s taking the event in his stride. Is he looking forward to O’Malley and Tegin’s bone-chilling mixture of Buddhist chanting, industrial crashing sounds and howling guitar? </p><p>People had never seen an original work by Warhol</p><p>Usually 'no budget' means there's no money. This time 'no budget' means there's no limit</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/13/future-sounds-of-russia-geometry-of-now-festival-ges2-moscow-leonid-mikhelson">Continue reading...</a>InstallationExperimental musicMusicFestivalsRussiaElectronic musicVideo artMusic festivalsCulturePerformance artWorld newsArt and designArchitectureArtThe art marketArts fundingClubbingMuseumsMon, 13 Mar 2017 07:00:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/13/future-sounds-of-russia-geometry-of-now-festival-ges2-moscow-leonid-mikhelsonPhotograph: Artyom Geodakyan/TASSPhotograph: Artyom Geodakyan/TASSAlex Needham2017-03-13T07:00:25ZGoya etchings found in French chateau are 'once in a lifetime discovery'https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/10/goya-etchings-found-french-chateau-once-lifetime-discovery
<p>Pristine prints of famous bullfighting series stored in old ledger hidden on library shelf could fetch up to £500,000 at auction </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/sep/26/francisco-de-goya-portraits-national-gallery-london">From princes to paupers: how Goya’s portraits tell the story of Spain</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/10/goya-etchings-found-french-chateau-once-lifetime-discovery">Continue reading...</a>Francisco de GoyaArt and designArtThe art marketCultureFranceUK newsEuropeWorld newsFri, 10 Mar 2017 14:28:36 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/10/goya-etchings-found-french-chateau-once-lifetime-discoveryPhotograph: WestImage - Art Digital Studio/SothebysPhotograph: WestImage - Art Digital Studio/SothebysMaev Kennedy2017-03-10T14:28:36ZFrom paintings to entire castle rooms, UK treasures that vanished in Americahttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/05/art-historians-seek-missing-uk-treasures-us-hearst-hoard-return-to-britain
Art historians are appealing for the return of hoards bought by billionaires<p>Leading British historians are calling for the return of a huge hoard of UK art treasures that has gone missing in the United States.</p><p>The works – a slice of the nation’s cultural history – range from ship-loads of paintings and sculptures to entire interiors from old houses, transported across the Atlantic as part of the largest movement of art and architecture since the Renaissance. The former V&amp;A director, Sir Roy Strong, is one of the academics calling for Britain’s vanished heritage to be found.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/05/art-historians-seek-missing-uk-treasures-us-hearst-hoard-return-to-britain">Continue reading...</a>HeritageArt and designCultureUS newsUK newsThe art marketSun, 05 Mar 2017 00:05:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/05/art-historians-seek-missing-uk-treasures-us-hearst-hoard-return-to-britainPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoRobin Stummer2017-03-05T00:05:29ZUS billionaire defends refusal to sell £30m Pontormo paintinghttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/02/us-billionaire-defends-refusal-sell-30m-pontormo-painting
<p>J Tomilson Hill attacks ‘false statements’ over his rejection of National Gallery’s bid for Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap</p><p>An American billionaire and philanthropist has attacked what he described as “false statements” made over his refusal to sell a 16th-century masterpiece to the National Gallery.</p><p>J Tomilson Hill, one of the world’s foremost art collectors, spoke of feeling “battered” by criticisms <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/06/national-gallerys-30m-pontormo-bid-rejected-due-to-sterling-slump">that he rejected a £30.7m offer</a> for his 1530 portrait by Jacopo Pontormo after the gallery had pulled out all the stops to raise the money.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/02/us-billionaire-defends-refusal-sell-30m-pontormo-painting">Continue reading...</a>PaintingThe art marketNational GalleryArtArt and designCultureUK newsThu, 02 Mar 2017 15:39:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/02/us-billionaire-defends-refusal-sell-30m-pontormo-paintingPhotograph: DCMS/PAPhotograph: DCMS/PADalya Alberge2017-03-02T15:39:10ZKlimt sells for £48m as auction houses hope the good times are backhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/01/picasso-and-klimt-top-the-bill-as-auction-houses-hope-good-times-of-2015-return
<p>After a difficult 2016, Sotheby’s and Christie’s are desperate for a return to what was a booming market in 2015</p><p>A dazzling, glad-to-be-alive Klimt painting of poppies, daisies, roses and zinnia has sold for £48m in London, and you could almost hear the relief of the auction houses that sell to the super-wealthy. The good times appear to be back.</p><p>The Klimt garden scene is the standard bearer for a fortnight of top-end art sales being held by Sotheby’s and Christie’s. After a difficult 2016, the two rivals are desperate for a return to what was a booming market in 2015.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/01/picasso-and-klimt-top-the-bill-as-auction-houses-hope-good-times-of-2015-return">Continue reading...</a>The art marketArtArt and designCultureGustav KlimtPablo PicassoUK newsThu, 02 Mar 2017 00:38:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/01/picasso-and-klimt-top-the-bill-as-auction-houses-hope-good-times-of-2015-returnPhotograph: Matt Dunham/APPhotograph: Matt Dunham/APMark Brown Arts correspondent2017-03-02T00:38:53ZKlimt and Basquiat sales could help Sotheby's smash London recordhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/22/klimt-basquiat-art-sales-sothebys-break-london-auction-record
<p>Auction of impressionist, modern and surrealist art next month has combined pre-sale estimate of nearly £400m</p><p>Works of art with a combined upper estimate of nearly £400m, representing one of the highest-value auctions to be staged in London, have gone on display.</p><p>The works include one of the few paintings by Gustav Klimt in private hands, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/10/klimt-painting-expected-to-fetch-well-over-45m-at-sothebys-auction">a 1907 garden landscape estimated at $45m</a> (£36m); and an important Jean-Michel Basquiat work that went under the hammer in 1987, a year before his death. At the time it was sold for $23,100; the current estimate is £14m-£18m.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/22/klimt-basquiat-art-sales-sothebys-break-london-auction-record">Continue reading...</a>The art marketPaintingArtArt and designLondonCultureUK newsGustav KlimtJean-Michel BasquiatGerhard RichterWed, 22 Feb 2017 17:08:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/22/klimt-basquiat-art-sales-sothebys-break-london-auction-recordPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersPhotograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersMark Brown Arts correspondent2017-02-22T17:08:34ZCall to reform UK art export rules after £30m Pontormo bid rejectedhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/16/reform-uk-art-export-rules-pontormo-portrait-young-man-red-cap-bid-rejected
<p>Art Fund says refusal of National Gallery’s bid for Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap highlights flaws in export licence system</p><p>Changes to the the UK’s art export system have been demanded after the National Gallery raised £30m to purchase a Renaissance masterpiece – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/06/national-gallerys-30m-pontormo-bid-rejected-due-to-sterling-slump">only to be turned down</a> by its American owner because of the post-Brexit exchange rate.</p><p>The gallery confirmed on Thursday that its offer to buy <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/oct/14/jacopo-pontormo-portrait-of-a-man-in-a-red-cap-national-gallery">Jacopo Pontormo’s Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap</a> had been refused.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/oct/14/jacopo-pontormo-portrait-of-a-man-in-a-red-cap-national-gallery">This painting is a masterpiece of love and war – Britain must break the bank to keep it</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/16/reform-uk-art-export-rules-pontormo-portrait-young-man-red-cap-bid-rejected">Continue reading...</a>PaintingNational GalleryArtThe art marketArt and designUK newsCultureThu, 16 Feb 2017 15:45:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/16/reform-uk-art-export-rules-pontormo-portrait-young-man-red-cap-bid-rejectedPhotograph: DCMS/PAPhotograph: DCMS/PAMark Brown Arts correspondent2017-02-16T15:45:02ZForgeries are hurting the art market – but I'd buy ones this goodhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/feb/15/forgeries-are-hurting-the-art-market-but-id-buy-ones-this-good
<p>Valuable paintings have recently been declared fakes, spreading fear through the world art market. But if they are fakes, I may be on the side of the forgers<br></p><p>How can you tell when the art market is terrified? Perhaps when a leading auction house sets up its own forensic department, so it can offer art collectors the additional reassurance of a battery of scientific tests when they fork out hundreds of thousands, or even millions, on a painting that may be a masterpiece – or may be a fake. <a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/market/auctioneers-buy-into-forensics-to-expose-the-fakes-and-frauds/">Sotheby’s New York has recently done just that</a>. It has purchased the research company Orion Analytical, whose forensic knowledge will now be part of its own brand. </p><p> Sotheby’s has good reason to buttress its expertise with objective scientific tests on such crucial clues as the age of the materials a work of art contains. For there is a crisis in the art trade. Allegations of forgeries are proliferating in a way that is troubling to think about.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/04/national-gallery-fake-old-master-orazio-gentileschi">Was the National Gallery scammed with a fake Old Master painting?</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/feb/15/forgeries-are-hurting-the-art-market-but-id-buy-ones-this-good">Continue reading...</a>Art and designCultureArtCollectingLife and styleThe art marketWed, 15 Feb 2017 09:16:22 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/feb/15/forgeries-are-hurting-the-art-market-but-id-buy-ones-this-goodPhotograph: Sotheby'sPhotograph: Sotheby'sJonathan Jones2017-02-15T09:16:22ZNational Gallery's £30m Pontormo bid rejected owing to sterling slumphttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/06/national-gallerys-30m-pontormo-bid-rejected-due-to-sterling-slump
<p>Attempt to save Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap for the nation is knocked back by US buyer in wake of Brexit vote</p><p>The National Gallery’s £30m offer to prevent a painting of national importance from being taken overseas has been rejected owing to the drop in the value of the pound after the Brexit vote. </p><p>Pontormo’s Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap (1530) was sold at auction two years ago to a US hedge fund manager, Tom Hill. The painting had been in the family of the Earl of Caledon since 1825. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/oct/14/jacopo-pontormo-portrait-of-a-man-in-a-red-cap-national-gallery">This painting is a masterpiece of love and war – Britain must break the bank to keep it</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/06/national-gallerys-30m-pontormo-bid-rejected-due-to-sterling-slump">Continue reading...</a>PaintingNational GalleryThe art marketArtArt and designCultureUK newsMon, 06 Feb 2017 19:31:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/06/national-gallerys-30m-pontormo-bid-rejected-due-to-sterling-slumpPhotograph: DCMS Press OfficePhotograph: DCMS Press OfficeNicola Slawson2017-02-06T19:31:30ZCanvassing opinion: what art critics make of the hit play Arthttps://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jan/20/canvassing-opinion-what-art-critics-make-of-the-hit-play-art
<p>What is art and how do we judge its value? As Yasmina Reza’s play is revived at the Old Vic in London, Stephen Moss asks Guardian critics Adrian Searle and Skye Sherwin if the price is right</p><p>A small play about big issues is how the producers like to portray <em>Art</em>, a sensation when it opened in the West End 20 years ago and now packing ’em in again in a revival at the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/old-vic">Old Vic in London</a>. The play is a three-hander by French writer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/yasmina-reza">Yasmina Reza</a>. It opened in Paris in 1994 and, in a translation by Christopher Hampton, swept the Anglo-Saxon world two years later, helped by starry casts – the first, unveiled in London in October 1996, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/albert-finney">Albert Finney</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/tom-courtenay">Tom Courtenay</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/ken-stott">Ken Stott</a>. That production won the Olivier award for best comedy in 1997. “But I thought I had written a tragedy,” said Reza when she picked up the prize.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/dec/21/art-review-rufus-sewell-tim-key-old-vic-london">Art review – Rufus Sewell shines in finely shaded character study</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jan/20/canvassing-opinion-what-art-critics-make-of-the-hit-play-art">Continue reading...</a>TheatreYasmina RezaStageCultureArt and designOld Vic TheatreRufus SewellArtThe art marketFri, 20 Jan 2017 12:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jan/20/canvassing-opinion-what-art-critics-make-of-the-hit-play-artPhotograph: Tristram Kenton for the GuardianPhotograph: Tristram Kenton for the GuardianStephen Moss2017-01-20T12:00:05ZWill a hard Brexit spell disaster for London's cosmopolitan art scene?https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/jan/17/hard-brexit-london-art-world
<p>Art is the definitive globalised marketplace, and London’s dealers are at its centre. Is the UK’s spectacular period of cultural eminence about to collapse?</p><p>At London’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/05/frieze-art-fair-2016-review-everyones-a-performer-in-the-boozy-fruity-house-of-fun">Frieze art fair last autumn</a> some friends from Vienna and Lahore took me to the Deutsche Bank VIP lounge. There we ate – what else? – micro portions of fish and chips, an ironically British gourmet snack in surroundings that stressed the global nature of the art economy.</p><p>Now the postmodern canapes are going cold in London’s art world, as the terror of a hard Brexit sends chills through some of the most sophisticated businesses in the capital. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/17/key-points-from-mays-what-have-we-learned">Key points from May's Brexit speech: what have we learned?</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/jan/17/hard-brexit-london-art-world">Continue reading...</a>The art marketArt and designArtCultureBrexitTue, 17 Jan 2017 15:16:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2017/jan/17/hard-brexit-london-art-worldPhotograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianPhotograph: Felix Clay for the GuardianJonathan Jones2017-01-17T15:16:07ZPicasso's widow may have hidden artworks from family, court toldhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/pierre-le-guennec-court-picasso-artworks
<p>Pierre Le Guennec, convicted last year of possessing stolen goods, says he was asked to store rubbish bags containing works</p><p>A man who kept nearly 300 Pablo Picasso artworks in his garage for almost 40 years has told a French appeal court the artist’s widow may have wanted to hide the works from his family.<br></p><p>“Mrs Jacqueline Picasso had problems with [her stepson] Claude [Ruiz] Picasso,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/nov/29/picasso-unknown-works-discovered">Pierre Le Guennec</a> said, presenting a new version of events to the court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/french-couple-guilty-of-possessing-stolen-picasso-works">French couple guilty of possessing stolen Picasso works</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/pierre-le-guennec-court-picasso-artworks">Continue reading...</a>Pablo PicassoArt theftFranceArt and designEuropeWorld newsCultureThe art marketArtMon, 31 Oct 2016 18:52:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/pierre-le-guennec-court-picasso-artworksPhotograph: Jean-Paul Pelissier/ReutersPhotograph: Jean-Paul Pelissier/ReutersAgence France-Presse in Aix-en-Provence2016-10-31T18:52:42ZAgnes Martin paintings at center of wave of disputes over provenancehttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/agnes-martin-painting-provenance-art-world-market
<p>A work by the artist, whose retrospective is showing at the Guggenheim, is the latest to be questioned as arguments over authentication hit the art market</p><p>The approach of the fall art sales brings with it almost unprecedented disputes over provenance. From <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jun/23/art">Frans Hals </a>to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/13/alec-baldwin-sues-art-dealer-over-190000-painting">Ross Bleckner</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/rothko">Mark Rothko</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/22/agnes-martin-the-artist-mystic-who-disappeared-into-the-desert">Agnes Martin</a>, the sheer number of authentication disputes heading to court is placing pressure on the art world to reform its standards for certifying work.<br></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/22/agnes-martin-the-artist-mystic-who-disappeared-into-the-desert">Agnes Martin: the artist mystic who disappeared into the desert</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/13/alec-baldwin-sues-art-dealer-over-190000-painting">Alec Baldwin sues art dealer over $190,000 'original' that wasn't</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/agnes-martin-painting-provenance-art-world-market">Continue reading...</a>Art and designCultureArtThe art marketAlec BaldwinAndy WarholMon, 31 Oct 2016 17:13:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/31/agnes-martin-painting-provenance-art-world-marketPhotograph: Guy Bell/REX ShutterstockPhotograph: Guy Bell/REX ShutterstockEdward Helmore in New York2016-10-31T17:13:10Z